8, with the exception of Lahaina.Ī longer-term worry is the changing climate. 8, Governor Green said the guidance that discouraged nonessential travel to West Maui would be discontinued on Oct. But in an emergency proclamation signed on Sept. 31 to encourage travel to Maui but asked that tourists be respectful and not visit the Lahaina area or West Maui. The Hawaii Tourism Authority approved a $2.6 million marketing plan on Aug. “Preying on people who suffered the most from the tragedy on Maui is despicable,” she said. Lopez told property owners in the burn area to report any unsolicited offers to buy their properties. State and local officials are considering a moratorium on sales of damaged or destroyed properties to prevent outsiders from taking advantage of the tragedy. There are widespread fears that rebuilding will be difficult or impossible for many residents. County and federal aid efforts gathered pace over the last few weeks, after frustrated residents in West Maui initially said that they were receiving far more help from an ad hoc network of charitable organizations and volunteers than they were from the government.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has given approximately $19 million in aid, the governor said. The American Red Cross is giving residents meals, mental health support and financial help. Rental assistance will last for 18 months, he said. Governor Green said in early September that 6,000 displaced residents were staying in Maui hotels, while another 1,100 were in Airbnb rentals. Displaced residents are staying in hotels. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the wildfire that devastated Paradise, Calif. But forensic analysis and DNA testing can take months or even years to identify the dead, as with the Sept. But they have said that the shortage of DNA samples from victims’ close family members is slowing the already painstaking process.īy making the names public in recent weeks, the authorities hoped to narrow the tally of the missing. Without fingerprints or dental records that can be used to identify human remains, officials have resorted to DNA testing. About 340 emergency personnel and 50 canine units combed for bone fragments through the ash in the burn area. The slow pace of identifying victims was dictated, officials said, by the large-scale destruction and by Maui’s remoteness, which complicated the arrival of out-of-state search dog teams. Kimura is among those expected to testify.

House committee said that it would hold its first public hearing on the Maui fires on Sept. Lopez, said that an outside agency would investigate the state government’s response.

Compounding the trouble, none of the 80 warning sirens placed around the island were activated, there was a water shortage for firefighters, and the evacuation route was jammed with traffic. Nearly 16 percent of Maui County was in a severe drought at the time of the blaze, according to the U.S. Worsening drought conditions probably contributed. Shelee Kimura, the chief executive of Hawaiian Electric, called the county’s lawsuit “factually and legally irresponsible.” The cause of that second “afternoon fire,” the utility said, had not yet been determined. But the utility said that its lines weren’t carrying any current by the time flames erupted in the midafternoon and destroyed Lahaina. Hawaiian Electric acknowledged in late August that its power lines ignited a fire early on the morning of Aug.

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